Recovering files from a damaged flash drive. Guide to returning a bootable flash drive to its normal state Recover a bad file from a flash drive

We choose the best programs for flash drive recovery. We tell you how to recover a USB flash drive and revive it using free utilities.

Flash drive– a small device for storing information (documents, music, videos, files), convenient for carrying and connecting to a USB port, or removing from a computer or laptop. It contains a controller and special chips that store information inside the microcircuits.

Sometimes we copy files and forget about them, and when we remember, we find that valuable files have either been erased or permanently deleted. Either the device is broken, you formatted the partitions. What can you do, often the digital flash drive (most often, the controller in it) breaks down, generates errors, the flash drive does not open on the PC - not even a month will pass. One day the flash drive may need to be restored. The reason for this may be:

• incorrect, careless operation of the flash drive
• incorrect formatting of the storage medium
• low-quality flash drive, bought on the market or cheaply from a Chinese (probably by mistake)
• physical or software failure of the flash drive (the most likely reason)
• Also, the reason for inoperability can be an incorrectly removed flash drive from a computer or laptop. This happens when an impatient user literally rips the flash drive out of the USB slot while copying or transferring files.

There are many reasons when it is necessary to restore a flash drive that does not open on the computer or is recognized with read errors. Fortunately, today specialists from service centers will help you return valuable files and restore the functionality of your device without any problems or errors. Recovery programs will return files safe and sound or at least partially restore data on a USB flash drive. The flash recovery procedure costs a lot of money, which makes you think about recovering a USB flash drive yourself. Alas, free utilities are not always useful.

Flash drives and SD memory cards are equally characterized by all the symptoms and consequences of deleting digital information. This could be accidental erasure, unconscious or deliberate deletion of files from a USB drive, damage to the structure, physical or mechanical damage to the controller or memory chips... One way or another, restoring a flash drive and SD card is a more than relevant task for PC owners. Therefore, first of all, read the contents of this section.

The flash drive does not open: we study the symptoms of damage

In the recovery section, we will talk about the main problems associated with recovering information on flash and secure digital drives. As a rule, this is due to hardware or software damage to the flash drive - if it does not come off or is not recognized correctly. Sometimes the memory wears out, sometimes the controller fails. And the USB controller drivers have nothing to do with it. In some cases, you can solve the problem yourself and, as a result, save the files on a flash card or repair the chip or device, ignoring reading errors on the computer. Here are just a few of the symptoms that indicate a drive failure:

• The PC does not see the flash drive in the list of readable devices
• The flash drive does not appear when connected to a laptop or computer (OS does not matter)
• The flash drive is not readable: although the files can be seen on the USB drive

Help with the contents of the section "Recovering a flash drive" (Flash Recovery)

• A small guide related to the question of how to find the reasons why the card does not work or the PC does not see the flash drive along with other drives (the device is not recognized, has problems being read, requires formatting, freezes, gives an error when copying to the card, etc.) flash drive -storage device. Diagnostics of malfunctions is important in such situations, because without identifying the disease, it is impossible to cure the patient, or even easily ruin his life, using the wrong tools, using the wrong methods and programs that can revive the drive. In this article, we analyze the causes of damage and possible symptoms that lead to the need to restore a flash drive, secure digital, controller, memory chip and flash card.
• We try (with the help of instructions and utilities posted on the site) and at the same time qualitatively - how to solve problems with our own hands - fix a breakdown on the sd card, revive the controller, correctly format, solder the loose contact or memory chip, scan information and process bad sectors on flash "ke, sections with reading errors. However, the described methods require certain dexterity and experience in using the specified tools.
• , if it does not open on your computer or does not display correctly. What is “VID&PID”, what does this abbreviation stand for and what to do when the device is not recognized or cannot be opened. Explanation of terminology, without which it is difficult to imagine recovery for flash drive, data and digital information on it.
• - testing 5 good programs, each of which has remarkable features when working with memory or a drive chip.

Recovering USB flash drives and memory cards. Formatting utilities

One of the best ways to resuscitate a Jetflash flash card is to reformat it again, at a low level. As a rule, such measures are taken when the flash drive is not readable. If possible, you should ask the memory manufacturer (say, A Data, Seagate, Transcend SD, Datatraveler, etc.) if they have proprietary utilities or fresh drivers for reconstruction. Scroll through the contents of this section for help and you will see several articles on the topic of low-level drive formatting. Fortunately, the Windows 7 and higher operating systems have tools for formatting a flash device without using third-party computer applications. One such program for a flash drive is HP USB Disk Storege Format Tool.

Diagnostic formatting of a flash card in the program for recovering flash drives HP USB Disk Storege Format

Utility for recovering HDD flash drive Low Level Format Tool

Many people know that the HDD Regenerator program is used to help revive hard drives (HDDs), but not many know that it is also suitable for devices such as flash drives. The essence of the program is the detection of bad bad sectors on the device with subsequent processing of the received information, depending on the controller and memory model, at a low access level via USB. As a result, you get a working device that can copy files without read and write errors. This greatly facilitates the recovery of flash drives if the computer does not see them. The HDD Regenerator program is equipped with recovery instructions; in addition, on the recovery website you can find instructions on using the utility and correct formatting (see via search). You can download the flash drive recovery program directly from the link posted on the HDD Regenerator review page.

By the way, in other sections on the Softdroid website you will find other programs for recovering flash drives (for example, Flash Recovery or JetFlash Recovery Tool), but we advise you to first study all the information collected in this section. We hope that after the measures taken, the computer will see your flash drive.

Why don't you indicate the cost of the product before downloading the flash drive recovery program and installing it?

Answer. You can download all the mentioned flash drive recovery programs on the official website. Only reviews are published on Softdroid - we do not have the physical ability to update information about the cost of the products presented. When you download the trial version of the program, it is free. Next, see information about the cost from the developer, or at the end of the trial period you will receive a notification.

Ask us a question about flash drive recovery

The site's specialists will help you recover your data. You ask a question - we answer it for free (you will receive the answer by mail).

The issue may not be related to file recovery. The main requirement is to describe the problem in detail, formulate it in such a way that you don’t have to decipher your message.

Flash Drive Information Extractor – a program for obtaining information and diagnosing a USB flash drive

Information about the flash drive (model, manufacturer, firmware version) helps to better understand the device and its operating features. In turn, this allows you to diagnose, restore files or correct the operation of the device.

How to recover deleted files from a USB flash drive: step-by-step guide

One of the most pressing problems associated with deleting files relates to the flash drive. Let's talk about how to recover deleted files from a flash drive using the Unformat program. What free software to install on your computer, what program, besides Unformat, is effective when working with a flash drive. The methods described below will be relevant for USB drives, memory cards, SD cards of digital cameras in the Windows OS environment. We will try to help you, even if the situation is difficult.

What to do if the computer does not see the USB flash drive? We solve problems and fix errors

If the file system of the memory card / USB flash drive is incompatible with the computer OS, the contents of this memory card will not be displayed when connected to a PC. Accordingly, you will not be able to work with the device until you correct the format. In addition, there are a number of other reasons why the computer does not display a USB flash drive (SD card) as a separate drive in Explorer.

How to restore a flash drive with your own hands: instructions for owners of flash drives

In this article I want to tell you how to restore a flash drive: about all the available methods for restoring damaged, non-working, faulty, faulty USB drives. I offer the most complete instructions, which includes all available methods, as well as programs that optimize flash drive recovery.

Do-it-yourself USB flash drive repair: troubleshooting hardware and software problems

What to do if the computer does not see the flash drive? We agree: this is a painful and frequently asked question. Another popular issue that flash drive owners face is repairs resulting from a breakdown. A USB drive has its own characteristics for repairing a controller, memory, or failed memory: in some cases, the storage device is not detected by the PC. What to do if the flash drive is not detected on any computer? This guide describes an operation to resuscitate an “invisible” flash drive for correct recognition on a computer.

Review of programs for restoring the functionality of a USB flash drive

Errors in the operation of USB flash drives are not common. Almost all of them boil down to the inability to read or write the necessary information into the device’s memory due to software damage.

Specialized programs provided by device manufacturers will help you fix the problem and restore the memory card.

To restore the operation of noname flash drives and those that do not have their own recovery software, the Chkdsk built into Windows and the formatting system are suitable.

Choosing the best program to recover deleted files from a USB flash drive

Damaged your portable USB flash drive or memory card? These best-in-class programs will help you save and recover information, and here you will learn what is involved in recovering data from a flash drive. Applications include Undelete 360, CardRecovery, PhotoRec, Recuva Professional and other candidates. You will also learn how to revive a flash drive for each program.

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard Free 11 – free data recovery program

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard supports many SSD data deletion scenarios. We will launch the Recovery Wizard and explain in a step-by-step manner how the recovery is performed. The free version of Easeus Data Recovery Wizard Free has limitations, we will tell you more about them. Using the EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard program, you can recover files and deleted information from a formatted disk, laptop, or removable devices such as a flash drive or SD card for free.

Where to download PhotoRec for free (for Windows OS)

The free PhotoRec program is designed to recover multimedia data on HDDs, USB flash drives, SD cards and other storage devices. Overview of PhotoRec recovery functions, scanning options. Where to download PhotoRec for Windows and other OS.

How to recover a flash drive using Unformat

I offer you an effective method for restoring a USB flash drive. To use it you will need a specialized utility - Unformat. The program has long established itself in the field of specialized software. In the instructions, I described in detail the entire process of returning files - from scanning the disk to saving files on a flash drive.

Unformat supports recovery of flash drives from almost all manufacturers on the market today.

Deleted data recovery is the process of retrieving information from storage media that cannot be accessed using standard methods. If the Windows operating system is unable to read any files due to damage to the file system, the presence of logical or physical errors on the media (hard, solid-state, removable disk), then you will have to resort to the help of utilities to restore access to the files located on it.

What does it mean that it is impossible to access information using standard methods? Probably everyone has noticed that when deleting even huge amounts of data, the process of erasing it occurs in a matter of seconds, while copying this information requires a significant amount of time. For example, copying or moving a movie takes tens of seconds or even several minutes, and its deletion is instantaneous. The whole secret lies in the fact that when copied to a storage medium, the file is transferred sector by sector, and when it is deleted, a completely different process takes place.

Storage of information on flash drives and hard drives is organized in the form of a book with a table of contents. The table of contents is a section file table containing file names, their attributes and paths, as well as sector addresses with all document fragments, and pages are the files themselves. The contents of the book, in this case, are the contents of the document (text, video, sound, etc.). Before accessing a file, the operating system first accesses the partition table. Having received the necessary information, the operating system or application begins reading the file, starting from the start sector, which stores the first fragment of the document. If the file is stored in defragmented form, that is, the sectors with its contents are not in a row, but scattered throughout the disk, then the file table contains the addresses of all its fragments in the order they were read. When performing operations with files within one logical drive, all actions are performed not on the document physically (not on sectors with its contents), but on the file table information that relates to this document.

When deleting documents or formatting media, the same processes occur - working with the disk partition table. When deleting a document, the corresponding areas of the drive (or the entire disk/partition during formatting) are designated as free. Physically, the information does not go anywhere, and if you have the appropriate software, it is quite possible to gain access to it. The only thing worth paying attention to is overwriting sectors with deleted data. Since these sectors are designated as free in the file table, when new information is written, it is written to free cells on top of files designated as deleted. Thus, physical deletion of documents or their fragments occurs. An analogy: a book retains its contents, but its table of contents is partially cleared, telling the reader that part of the book contains blank pages. It is this algorithm for working with data that allows you to restore it - to gain access to files using non-standard methods.

Before recovering deleted files from a flash drive

Take note of this important point right away! Do not write anything to the flash drive until the information you need has been extracted from it. As stated earlier: during recording, your files that are physically untouched but marked as deleted may be overwritten by new ones. In this case, the chances of restoring them will drop sharply, or even become zero. This is especially true for archives, text documents and programs. For audio, video and image files, overwriting several sectors is not critical - they will be played and/or displayed, but with minor artifacts. Before you begin to restore information, close all applications that can work with the flash drive in write mode in order to minimize the loss of information that can still be restored.

It is also important to check whether the information has actually been deleted and is not hidden on the flash drive. To do this, you need to make files with the “Hidden” attribute visible. This stage is described in detail below, in the paragraph “Checking for hidden files”, so there is no point in dwelling on it.

You should also know what file system you are dealing with. The procedures for recovering files from FAT and NTSF are similar for the user, but the results of recovery programs may differ significantly in the effectiveness of the data obtained.

The FAT file system and its successor FAT32 store file data in several areas of the media. The document descriptor, including its name, size and attributes, is located in the directory. The file location table also stores a list of clusters belonging to the file in the order in which they are accessed. This system of organizing data storage on a device has a significant drawback - during its partial or complete destruction, data on the clusters allocated to files also disappear. Restoring information in this case is possible, but on the condition that the utility accurately determines its contents and collects the clusters belonging to the file in the correct order. And the recovery process in this case will take a lot of time.

The loss of directories makes it impossible to accurately determine the 1st sector where the file begins, as well as its name (path to the file) and the space it occupies. In such a situation, you can collect documents from cluster chains that exist in the file table. The names of such documents will contain a random set of characters or be generated by the recovery program, for example, based on user settings. Only by knowing what type of file we are recovering, for example, based on its size, can it be accessed by changing the extension manually or using a program to determine the contents of a document by its signature (more on this later). In this case, resuscitation of a large number of different types of files will turn into a very labor-intensive and time-consuming process for the user.

In NTFS, all data about the file is written to the main partition table - MFT. Each of its entries contains the name of the document, its attributes, security parameters and, most importantly, the chain of clusters in which the file itself is located, in the order in which they were read. Therefore, the quality of file recovery from disks formatted in NTFS directly depends on the degree of damage to the partition table and its backup copy.

This difference should be understood and taken for granted, especially when recovering information from a formatted or damaged flash drive.

Where did the files from the flash drive go?

If you did not delete anything from the removable drive, but some file or many of them disappeared from it, it means that someone else, for example, a friend, is to blame. The flash drive was used by other people - they could destroy all the data on it, for example, by formatting it before use or deleting unnecessary information. A virus or antivirus program could also be the culprit.

Many people have come across a virus that changes the attributes of all files and folders on removable media to “Hidden” and reproduces itself under the names of your data. A not very attentive user who did not notice the substitution begins to open the document, but a virus program is launched instead. It’s good when the installed antivirus recognizes it in time and eliminates it, preventing it from causing any harm. As it seems to many, the antivirus is the culprit of data loss, but alas: it only removes malicious programs that bear the names of your documents. Here you need to be more careful and look at the extensions of files deleted by the antivirus. Surely, in all of them it will be “exe”, and your files will continue to be stored on the flash drive, not appearing in Explorer until you follow the instructions described below.

To make sure that the files on the flash drive are present, but not displayed, or are missing, we check the amount of information placed on it. To perform this operation we perform the following steps. Call the context menu of the flash drive and select “Properties”, located at the end of the list.

Let's look at the volume occupied by files. It is displayed next to the “Busy” sign.

If there is no data on the flash drive, it means that the information was deleted by the user during the formatting process, damage to the file system, or the presence of logical or mechanical defects in the structure of the drive. That is, they will have to be restored using specially developed applications.

Deleting files to the Recycle Bin

How can I restore data deleted from a flash drive to the Recycle Bin? None. Such a concept does not exist and now we will figure out why. Don’t even try to find files recently deleted from a flash drive in the Recycle Bin.

Remember! Deleting files from removable USB drives occurs without going to the Recycle Bin, unlike a similar process with hard and solid-state drives.

This can be understood based on the object deletion dialog. Just compare the warnings about deleting data from a flash drive with a similar dialog about moving information to the Trash.

Most users do not pay attention to the contents of the dialog during the operation, and simply agree to perform the action by clicking the “Yes” or “Enter” button.

If you delete information from a flash drive, do it carefully; there will be no chance to restore anything from the recycle bin, as is the case with a hard drive.

Lost data will have to be restored through special applications, and no one guarantees 100% reliability of the data resuscitation process. Files that were deleted from the hard drive to the Recycle Bin, and it was then emptied, can be easily restored using a special program. The best free offers will be discussed a little later.

Flash drive damaged by virus

There are a huge number of different opinions, the essence of which is that any malicious program can cause physical harm to a removable drive - and this is not true.

The only thing a virus can do is hide files from the user’s eyes or damage the file partition table, which was discussed earlier.

Consequently, the operating system will not be able to read the data and will most likely prompt you to format the device. In this case, the information will remain physically on the media, but it will not be possible to access it using the standard method. There are viruses that assign the “Hidden” attribute to all files and folders located in the root directory of the media. After this, such information becomes invisible in the Explorer window and, as a result, the user does not see it. We'll talk more about this later.

Recovering files after accidentally formatting a flash drive

Formatting a flash drive is the process of programmatically marking the drive and forming its logical structure. Formatting comes in two varieties: quick and full (or low-level). Quick formatting is the clearing of most of the file allocation table with their addresses and attributes, that is, no data is physically destroyed, and its structure remains intact, which allows you to determine it and restore data. Full formatting consists of physically rewriting each cluster of a drive or partition - after deleting information about the location of files, a logical zero is written to each cluster (the minimum unit of information storage) of the drive. This process turns information recovery into a labor-intensive and difficult, but still feasible, albeit partially, task.

Many programs can analyze information found on a formatted hard drive using its signatures to determine the contents of the file. Signatures are file labels that help programs identify them. As a rule, they are placed at the very beginning of the file, less often at the end, and look like a small fragment of hexadecimal code.

Search by signatures

Analysis of found files and their fragments by signatures is the most effective data recovery technology currently available. It allows you to revive virtually any files: lost due to quick or low-level formatting, partially overwritten or located in damaged sectors.

In addition to the usual reading of deleted data, this method allows you to gain access to absolutely any information located on the storage medium, even partially damaged information and information to which there are no references in the file system. Programs that support signature-based file recovery read data from the media and on-the-fly compare it with an online or offline database of signatures specific to various file types for compliance. When the utility finds a match, it begins analyzing the document header in order to extract as much useful information as possible. At the end of the procedure, the utility renames the document, indicating its extension. Thanks to this algorithm, the application is able to determine the exact size of a file, because many types of documents contain in their header not only its size, but also its name, attributes, etc.

The advantages of the method include the ability to effectively recover files from media. The disadvantage is that it only works with known document types entered into the database. Also, the duration of the process of deep scanning of the drive’s file system can last for tens of minutes or even hours, depending on the volume.

How to recover data after a damaged USB device

All modern flash drives consist of a controller, data storage cells, a quartz oscillator and several additional microcircuits. All physical damage to flash drives can be divided into several categories: mechanical - damage to soldering, connector, deformation of the substrate, etc. due to careless handling of the drive (falls, impacts); electrical and thermal - arise as a result of sudden jumps in potential on board elements, storage and use of the device at high ambient temperatures, or during overheating, which happens very rarely; Damage and failure of the controller is the most common problem, due to which the data still stored on the memory chips cannot be accessed using standard methods.

Mechanical damage is the most difficult to eliminate: you will have to resolder fallen contacts, replace connectors, or completely unsolder memory chips and read information from them using special devices - readers or flash readers.

In the case of electrical damage (for example, an element has burned out), the information is read, as in the case of mechanical problems, by desoldering memory chips, creating their images on specialized equipment for subsequent data recovery using software. If the controller is inoperative, you will also have to unsolder the memory chip and restore the information using the same reader or Flash reader.

Instead of conclusion: if the elements of a flash drive are physically damaged or its controller or quartz oscillator fails, it is unlikely that you will be able to recover data from the drive yourself. This can be done at a specialized service center.

Checking the flash drive for hidden files

Many users are probably familiar with the situation when the operating system does not detect files stored on removable media, although you are sure that they exist. Before you start recovering documents that you cannot find on the flash drive, you need to make sure that they are really missing. To do this, activate the option to display files that have the “Hidden” attribute. Performing this operation does not require the user to have any advanced knowledge in the field of IT.

Just follow the instructions below.

Launch “Explorer”, for example, go to the “My Computer” directory.

Let's focus on the main menu. In it, select “Arrange”, and in the drop-down list of options, click on the item “ Folder and search options».

In the window that appears, switch to the “View” tab. Scroll down the list of functions, where we move the switch to the position “ Show hidden files...", as shown in the screenshot.

This will provide the ability to see files and directories with the “Hidden” attribute. In the Explorer window they are indicated in gray. Click “Apply" and agree to display hidden files by clicking "Yes" in the warning window. After this, the changes will take effect and you will not have to restart the system or the “explorer” process. Click "Ok" to close the dialog box. The same can be done in another way - through “ Control Panel" We call " Control Panel"by a method known to you, for example, through “Start”. If the panel view is switched to “Categories”, go to “”.

Then click on the inscription: “ Show/display hidden files and folders».

When the control panel elements are visualized as icons, large or small, click on the inscription “ Folder Options”. Next, we perform all the steps starting from step 3 of the previous method of displaying hidden files and directories. These actions can also be performed using the Total Commander file manager.

If your files still have not appeared, it means that you will not be able to access them in the usual way and will have to obtain it using specialized utilities.

Video instructions - how to check a flash drive for hidden files

Automatically fix system errors and restore bad sectors

File system corruption is a fairly common problem due to which Windows cannot read files located on a flash drive. Several factors can cause this scenario:

• improper disconnection of the flash drive;
• power surges during the operation of the flash drive;
• physical wear and tear of memory cells, etc.

In order to try to correct this annoying error, it is necessary to scan the storage media cells for physical and logical errors. This can be done using a large number of applications, but we will look step by step at how to scan a flash drive using the console utility built into Windows. You can launch it in several ways.

Via GUI

Go to “My Computer" or open the directory with the contents of the flash drive and call its context menu.

We activate the “Service” tab, which will allow you to start scanning the flash drive and click “ Run check" to launch the system program ChkDsk.

We set the scan parameters, as in the screenshot, to correct physical and logical errors of the drive, and click “Run".

If the operating system asks you to disconnect the device volume for scanning, end all applications using it and agree by clicking “Dismount".

Next, you will have to wait a few minutes, depending on the damage and size of the flash drive, while the utility checks it. Upon completion of the scan, scan statistics will be displayed on the screen. If the utility has corrected errors and reassigned sectors, you can try to open the flash drive in Explorer to gain access to the information located on it.

The same thing can be easily done using the command line

Call up the “Run” dialog by clicking on the corresponding “Start” menu item or pressing the combination Win + R. In the window we write “cmd” and click “OK” or “Enter” to launch the command line.

We start the drive verification process. To do this, look at its label in the Explorer window. On the command line we write “chkdsk I: /F /R”, where: chkdsk is the command to call the disk check program; I: - disc label; /F – flag that launches the program in the mode of correcting defects in the disk file system (analogous to automatic correction of system errors); /R – parameter responsible for repairing or reassigning damaged sectors.

Press “Enter" and wait for the verification procedure to complete. If the question arises about the need to disable the device for other applications, we close all programs that can access the flash drive. Then click “Y” and “Enter”.

At the end of the scan, the “Found.000” directory should appear on the flash drive with the results of the scan if the utility detected and corrected errors.

If after checking the flash drive with an antivirus the files are missing

It happens that after connecting a flash drive to a USB connector, an antivirus program starts scanning it automatically. And after completing the scan and removing viruses, it is discovered that all your files have disappeared on the drive, be they programs or text documents. The same thing can happen after manually scanning removable media. What happened, why does the antivirus delete files that are not viruses? It is not a fact that all your files were safe: the same documents in doc format may contain dangerous macros, and the antivirus could perceive executable files as malicious. As mentioned earlier, there are viruses that change file attributes to “Hidden”, read more in paragraph “Where did the files go?”. In any case, if you don’t copy anything to the flash drive, there is a huge chance of saving your data.

Free programs for recovering deleted data (files) from a flash drive

If your files are nevertheless erased due to accidental formatting or deletion, it is still possible to access them - you will have to use one of the freely distributed utilities designed to solve this problem. The market is flooded with similar solutions, but most programs for resuscitating information from flash drives are paid. Of the few free ones, a significant part does not cope with its tasks or has poor functionality, which is not enough for many users. Today we’ll look at the best free solutions for data recovery from removable drives. The list of applications reviewed contains both easy-to-learn utilities that can restore information after accidental deletion or quick formatting, as well as professional solutions that can be used to restore data from drives with a damaged file system after full formatting or partial overwriting of files. Below are the most effective and functional data reanimators from removable USB flash drives with detailed instructions that will help restore information to a user with any level of training.

How to recover deleted information from a flash drive using the free DMDE program

DMDE is a professional utility for searching and recovering data. You can download the latest version of DMDE on the official website using this link. Working according to a well-debugged algorithm, the program is able to restore the structure of disk folders and the files located in them. It has several built-in tools, such as a disk editor, partition manager, modules for creating images, and others. After downloading the application, you will have to unpack it to any location except the partition from which you will restore files. Any archiver or built-in Windows tools for working with archives can handle this. When you launch DMDE for the first time, you must specify your preferred interface language. Select Russian and click “Ok”.

In the next window, we accept the license terms by checking the “ I accept the terms..." and clicking on the " Accept " button.

To view file recovery and disk editing, you need to select the media with which we will work. If the device is connected, check the “Physical” item. devices." Next, put a tick next to “ Show sections" In the right frame, mark our flash drive and click “Ok”.

After this, the utility will scan the computer for logical devices and display them in a list. Since we are using a flash drive, there will only be one volume on it. In the window, select the flash drive and click “Search FAT" or search "NTFS", depending on the file system of the flash drive.

In the window with setting search parameters, it is better not to change anything, and immediately go to the search by clicking on the button of the same name.

The current file system is determined in the device properties.

Select a specific file system and click “ Open volume". It is not necessary to save the disk log.

On the left side of the window that opens, go to the “$Root” directory - this is the root directory of our flash drive with the scan results. All information that the utility can recover is displayed here. We tick the documents we need, call up their context menu and click on “ Recover files..." The same can be done with the key combination “Ctrl + U”.

It is also worth noting " Files in the current panel"if you want to recover only certain information. Click "Ok".

Then we will see a dialog box with a report on the work done on data recovery. Close it by clicking “Ok” and continue working in the program or exit it.

Recovering deleted files from a flash drive with the free Recuva program

Recuva is an easy-to-learn utility for resuscitating lost data from the developers of Ccleaner. You can download the latest version of Recuva on the official website using this link. File recovery is carried out in the following way. We launch the program in wizard mode; if the settings have not been changed, it automatically starts in this mode. In the first window, click “Next”. Then select the type of data you want to recover to determine the flash drive scanning algorithm.

If you want to recover, for example, photographs, then there is no need to waste time searching and identifying other types of files. The same applies to other similar cases. When you want to restore various types of documents, do not change anything and click “Next”. In the window asking you to create an image, it is better not to create it if no other programs use the device in recording mode. Otherwise, you should create an exact copy of the drive to increase your chances of recovering lost data. We indicate the flash drive from which information will be restored.

Move the radio switch to the “On a memory card” position if one removable drive is connected to the computer.

Otherwise, move the mark to the position “ At the specified location" Then click “Browse...” and select the flash drive.

Click on the button that says “Next”. We enable in-depth analysis only if the necessary files for recovery were not found during a regular scan. When scanning for the first time, it is better not to enable this option. We wait while the utility searches for information.

In the window that opens with the search results, check the required files and click on “Recover”.

Specify the path for the recovered data and click “Ok”.

The folder with the recovered data should not be on the flash drive from which we are restoring it.

Upon completion of the procedure, we get acquainted with its results and close the window by clicking on its only button.

When restoring graphic files (photos), you should switch to advanced mode by clicking on the corresponding button.

In this mode, a preview of the found graphic files is available, which will greatly facilitate the work if you need to access several images or photographs.

If some files are not detected, you will have to perform a deep scan of the file system of the flash drive. To do this, in paragraph 6, put a tick next to “ Enable in-depth analysis».

This process will take much longer, but the result of a deep scan will bring more results.

Recovering deleted files from a flash drive using the free utility R.saver

R.saver is an easy-to-use utility for recovering information from media with various file systems: FAT, NTFS and exFAT. In addition to resuscitating deleted data, the application is able to reconstruct a damaged file system of a flash drive and gain access to information that was lost by completely formatting the device (using signatures). You can download R.saver for free from the official website using this link. The program does not require installation and can be launched from any media. Below are instructions for working with R.saver, which a user who has basic computer skills will understand. Launch R.saver. During startup, the utility checks the computer for storage devices connected to it.

In the window that opens with a list of information storage devices connected to your computer, go down and fix your gaze on the device with the name “JetFlash USB...”. We select the flash drive we need if there are several of them connected at a given time. You can navigate by their name and size.

Call the context menu of the drive and select the action we need from it: “ Search for lost data"- if you want to recover deleted information; " Recover after formatting"- when it is necessary to gain access to information that was lost due to formatting the drive.

We are waiting for the file system reconstruction procedure to complete. The process can take about ten minutes or more when scanning a flash drive of significant size (32 or 64 GB).

Once the file system scan is complete, the search window will automatically close. A list of data that can be recovered will appear on the right side of the program interface.

Select the required files (as in Windows Explorer using Ctrl and Shift). Call up their context menu and click on “Copy to...”

In the dialogue, go to the directory where the program will restore the data, and click “Select".

Do not select the removable disk from which you are restoring information or its subdirectories as the output directory.

The utility will quickly handle the file copying process and automatically close the copy window. In the case of reconstructing the file system after formatting the drive, all actions are performed in the same way, except that the reconstruction process may take a long time and before scanning you will have to select the file system of the flash drive from the list proposed by the utility.

Recovering deleted data using PC Inspector File Recovery utility

PC Inspector File Recovery is a powerful English-language utility for recovering lost files at the sector level, which will allow you to access partially overwritten and lost information due to damage to the media file system or its formatting. You can download PC Inspector File Recovery for free from the official website using this link. The program does not have a Russian-language user interface, so you will have to deal with English-language inscriptions, and there is nothing difficult about it. In the launch window we are offered to receive some privileges by purchasing the full version of the program. Click the green button that says “Free Trial” to get started.

Click on the top left frame with the image of the recycle bin and the inscription “Lost File Recovery" - “ Recovering lost files».

We select our removable USB drive, as a rule, it is located at the very bottom. We focus on the icon of USB devices, the capacity of the flash drive and its name. Click “Start” to start the scanning process.

If the required information could not be found using the usual method, then check the box next to “ Enable Deep Scan" to conduct an in-depth scan at the sector level and select the drive’s file system.

You can view it in the properties of the flash drive, as in the screenshot.

We wait while the utility checks the drive for traces of files that can be recovered.

Once the drive scan is complete, a window will appear divided into several frames. The left displays all detected data, grouped by data type: archives, graphic files, text documents, videos, etc. In the lower right frame you can see the names of all files of the selected type, and images and text documents can also be viewed in the preliminary window view posted above. We tick the files and/or file types that we want to recover and click on the orange “Recover" button to open the file recovery dialog.

In the dialog, specify the directory where the program should restore the selected files. If necessary, you can create a new one by clicking on the “ New Folder" button. Click on the green “Recover” button.

Depending on the amount of information being restored, the recovery process can take from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. Upon completion, a window will appear congratulating you on the successful recovery of your files, and the folder in which the program has created copies of the recovered data will open in Windows Explorer. We go into it and check the quality of its algorithms. If the files are inoperative, use a deep scan, as described earlier.

Recovering deleted information using the Ontrack EasyRecovery Professional utility

A freely distributed recoverer capable of recovering a huge number of file types lost either due to careless deletion or when formatting a removable flash drive. You can download it from the official website using this link. Unfortunately, when we tested the latest version of Ontrack EasyRecovery Professional, it did not recover anything for us. We found an earlier version on the Internet that successfully coped with its task. Therefore, our data recovery instructions will be from an earlier version of Ontrack EasyRecovery Professional than on the official website. But soon, we will definitely re-test the latest version and make a separate review of Ontrack EasyRecovery Professional. Although the utility has a multilingual interface, it does not have a Russian interface. Let's start recovering files that Windows Explorer cannot detect on a removable USB flash drive. In the main application window, click on the button labeled “Data Recovery”, because we are interested in file recovery. We choose a method of data resuscitation. In our case, “Deleted recovery” is suitable, since the information was lost precisely as a result of careless deletion of data.

We select the device that will be scanned. Flash drives are usually displayed last in the list. Next, select the type of files to recover if you want to recover certain data (photos, documents). Click “Next”.

The left side of the window that appears with the scan results displays a directory tree, and the right side displays a list of found files.

We tick the data we need. And click on the “Next” button. If necessary, you can use the preview function - the “ View File" button.

Click on the “Browse” button to open a window with the selection of a directory to restore files. Specify the recovery path and confirm it with the “OK” button. You can also enter the path to the output directory manually in the line before the “ Browse” button.

Having specified the path, click “Next" to start the operation of restoring the marked files.

The operation is completed, a window with its results appears in front of us. If necessary, the report can be saved by clicking on “Save” and specifying the path to the text file. Click “Done” to complete Ontrack EasyRecovery Professional.

When asked whether to save the report, click negative if it has already been saved or is not necessary.

Learn how to recover deleted files using Active File Recovery

Active File Recovery is a system utility for data recovery that supports a huge number of removable flash drives and their file systems. You can download Active File Recovery for free from the official website using this link. Let's consider the chain of actions that need to be performed to recover files lost in one way or another. The left side of the main program window displays a list of storage media. Select a flash drive from them by clicking on the USB device icon.

We move the cursor to the detected file system, as a rule, there is only one, call its context menu and select “Quick Scan" to start the process of quickly checking the file system.

Mode " Deep check"or "SuperScan" we launch if the device has been formatted or the previous method did not give the desired results. To recover files deleted by mistake, in most cases a quick scan is sufficient.

Using the “Ctrl”, “Shift” and the cursor keys, select the required files. Call up their context menu and stop at the item “Restore...”

In the window with recovery parameters, we indicate the path for resuscitation of files (enter it manually or use the “..." button to open a dialog for selecting the output folder.

Having set all the parameters, for example, opening the directory with files after their recovery is complete, click “ Restore".

Now you know how to access lost files in a matter of minutes, without spending a single penny on purchasing software, a trip to a service center, or calling a technician to your home. But the recovery procedure does not always go smoothly. Quite often, users encounter the following problems:

• The data recovery program does not detect the required file;
• the recovered document does not open;
• an error appears when you try to open a resuscitated file;
• information is partially restored, etc.

In this section of the article, we will consider these and other problems that accompany the process of retrieving lost information from removable media.

If the files are partially recovered, what to do?

It happens that applications partially restore data - the restored file is a document with a damaged internal data structure. This means that the program detected the file and determined its structure, but by the time of recovery, some of its fragments had been physically overwritten. After all, when deleting information or formatting a drive, the sectors that it occupied are designated as free; some information was written to these sectors. Also, document fragments could be located in damaged areas of the media. Therefore, it is recommended not to write anything to a flash drive before or during the process of restoring data files.

As for our further actions when working with such data, here the choice is between two options: try to restore files with another program, use an in-depth method of analyzing the drive, or resort to using utilities to restore damaged files, although their functionality is very questionable in most cases .

It is quite possible to work with some partially recovered documents. For example, an audio file or video that has been reconstructed with minor defects will play in most cases. Places with lost data are simply filled with zeros - this means that in the playback of such a video or song there will be artifacts in some places - non-natural flickering or image distortion, extraneous clicks, atypical noise and interference of audio tracks. It is recommended to play damaged files using the powerful and content-unpretentious multimedia player VLC. As for archived data, there is always a chance to extract part of the files from the archive, which may also have a broken structure in relation to the original version. There are many applications for restoring damaged archives. To work with damaged archives, there is an IZArc archiver with integrated algorithms for restoring such archives. You can also use utilities for Recovery Toolbox for Rar/Zip.

Damaged image files, like other multimedia data, can be opened in most image viewing applications. Naturally, some information will be lost. The missing fragments will be painted over with some color, usually black. Try opening damaged graphic files using regular Paint and resaving them.

Damaged text files, such as txt or doc, can be opened with a text editor. If the document is slightly damaged, there is a high probability that some of the text will be accessible to txt documents. Even slightly damaged documents in doc format usually open with errors or contain incorrect encoding. This results in a meaningless set of characters being displayed instead of text. This is where OfficeRecovery can help. It analyzes the original document, and sophisticated algorithms correct the data to extract the maximum amount of useful information. Next, a heuristic analysis of the file is launched, if possible, in order to identify lost fragments. The utility puts the user and received data into a complete file and saves it. But the effectiveness of such programs is too low, and they most likely will not help.

Nothing appeared on the flash drive after recovery

Only naive and inattentive users can claim that after restoring data from a removable USB drive, no information appeared on it. Firstly, as was said, it is not recommended to select the drive from which information is extracted as the output folder for saving them, because programs warn about this. Secondly, nothing can appear on flash drives, since the programs recommend specifying the path to the output folder or assign it automatically, for example, “My Documents” or some directory on the system drive.

Read the instructions given in this article carefully. All your data has been restored to the directory you specified.

Flash drive asking for formatting

Many people are probably familiar with the situation when, when connecting a flash drive to a computer, the operating system prompts you to format the drive. What to do in such a situation if the flash drive contains important data, which after formatting will naturally disappear, and the chances of gaining access to them will be significantly reduced.

First of all, you will have to check the drive for bad sectors, as described in the paragraph “Automatically correcting system errors.” Then we reconnect the device and in most cases the problem is solved.

The second method is to scan the flash drive using one of the free programs to gain access to data that Windows cannot read, for example, JetFlash Recovery Tool, which was discussed in the corresponding section.

Is it possible to recover files from a flash drive that were deleted a long time ago?

The time at which files are deleted does not matter. It is more important that the device is fully operational, and that the sectors occupied by deleted files are not overwritten. The more actions you took to write data to the drive after deleting the files you want to recover, the less chance you have of doing so.

If a file was deleted to the Recycle Bin and then the Recycle Bin was emptied, is it possible to recover the deleted file?

Let's start with the fact that deleting data from removable drives goes past the Recycle Bin. When you delete something from a flash drive, the file is erased from the drive without moving to the Recycle Bin, as is the case with a hard or solid-state drive. It is possible to restore such data, but there is an important caveat. Remember that data written to a hard drive or removable storage device, or files deleted from the Recycle Bin may be completely or partially overwritten, which reduces their likelihood of being recovered. First of all, this applies to documents erased from the system disk - it is constantly accessed by the operating system and a huge number of running applications. In this case, you should turn off the computer and boot from a flash drive or other disk to increase the chances of recovering the still intact files.

The more actively the disk is used and the more time has passed since deletion, the less likely it is to get back a complete and undamaged document.

The program recovered the files, but some cannot be opened, what should I do?

If after resuscitation some files do not open, it means they were damaged or not restored at all - the program created an empty file with the name of the detected one, but could not transfer the deleted contents to it for one reason or another. Use another data recovery program or enable an in-depth scan of the drive.

The program restored the document, but it turned out to be empty. What to do?

In this case, the document turned out to be severely damaged and nothing can be done with such a file. Perhaps try to recover the empty file again, saving it under a different name or in a different location, or use another utility to recover information. Ultimately, you will have to contact a service center that specializes in data recovery.

There are a lot of long materials on my site and it will be difficult for a person who is faced with a problem for the first time to tie up the loose ends and understand how to start taking action. Here I have focused on the first stages, this is the definition controller And FID memory, since people often get confused at the very beginning, which creates the main difficulties.
For the hundredth time, for the especially gifted, a few words about the method VID-PID, in short - this method is not a method. Type and PID are most often identifiers of the flash drive manufacturer and have nothing to do with the filling. For smaller companies, they often remain original and in most cases indicate the chip manufacturer, but the model is extremely rare and, as a rule, not very accurate. Well, what kind of memory is there, whether the flash drive froze or even burned out, the device will never tell you. I think it will be unpleasant to sit for two days to select vidpid, and then find out that the flash drive was faulty all this time.

If you need more comprehensive information, I recommend that after reading this manual, go to the section with articles () and read some of them.

You can also write to me on the forum (), registration is extremely simple - click register, enter your login, username, password and answers to security questions. I urge you, when contacting the forum, carefully select the appropriate section for your question and, if possible, follow the template (). So, for example, if you know the manufacturer of the controller installed in your flash drive, then write in its section.

SHORT PROCEDURE

Let's look step by step at what needs to be done to achieve success in our business. I ask you to pay special attention to the first point, because many users underestimate it, but in vain!

LOOKING LOOKING AROUND

If the flash drive cannot be detected by the computer, we try to perform the following methods in the exact sequence presented until it is correctly recognized as a device.
- to restart a computer;
– connect through the rear USB- motherboard port or, at worst, change the port;
– clean the registry using the program USB Oblivion, do not forget to disable everything before starting the process USB devices and set the bird ‘ Do real clean (simulation otherwise)‘;
– transfer the flash drive to , try several different combinations (5-6 minimum), both on the controller and on the flash memory;
– in case of unstable operation of the operating system, check the flash drive on another computer, simultaneously putting it in test mode;
– if none of the above helps, then 99.9% of your flash drive has hardware problems. You can try, before connecting it to the port, to press the memory and controller chips with your fingers so that they stick more tightly to the surface of the printed circuit board and connect and keep in this state until the effectiveness of the attempt is determined. If this does not help, then you cannot do without a soldering iron and special knowledge; as a rule, it is easier to throw out such a device.

Don’t forget to juggle the flash drive in the port between attempts, they really love it.

DETERMINING WHAT'S INSIDE

Let's say your flash drive is visible as a device, but this does not guarantee its hardware serviceability. Its incorrect display in production utilities is a serious reason to consider the flash drive half-dead. In this case, it is recommended to switch it to test mode, and if there are problems with correct identification, then the firmware will not help you for 98% of the current.

A little theory:
Most flash drives are recognized by three free programs distributed on the Internet: ChipGenius, And ChipEasy.

ChipGenius– knows the largest number of controllers, the main advantage is that it sometimes processes frozen flash drives. By the way, at the same time this is its drawback, since a person may think that the device is working properly and will not think of transferring it to test mode.

Flash Drive Information Extractor (usbflashinfo)– a domestic development, which is why it is focused mainly on controllers that are installed in flash drives sold in our country. For fakes (fake flash drives and flash drives as gifts), chipgenium is of course better suited. But for those controllers that it knows, it provides the most complete information. So in case of correct testing with a flash drive, the report from this utility is most preferable.
It is familiar with the following pieces of hardware: Phison, Alcor, USBest, iTE, SkyMedi (not all), SMI, SSS, YS8231 and similar Appotech, Innostor, and also recognizes ChipsBank (not all), SanDisk (a company, but not a model and others), U3 different, some iCreate (but they don’t have memory).

ChipEasy– in recent years it has hardly been updated, therefore it is ineffective, I don’t see much point in using it.

You can download all these three utilities here -. You should use only the latest versions, and not the one that is closer to you.
You can get detailed background information on this issue from the article -

So, let's conduct a quick program examination of the patient. We connect the flash drive to USB port and scan it one by one using the program Flash Drive Information Extractor And ChipGenius.

; usbflashinfo790548:
Volume: K:
Controller: Phison PS2306
Possible Memory Chip(s): Not available
Flash ID: 2C847863 A9
Chip F/W: 02/01/10
Firmware Date: 2014-05-22
ID_BLK Ver.: 1.2.74.0
MP Ver.: MPALL v3.80.00
VID: 13FE
PID: 5400
Manufacturer: UFD 3.0
Product: Silicon Power32G
Query Vendor ID: UFD 3.0
Query Product ID: Silicon Power32G
Query Product Revision: PMAP
Physical Disk Capacity: 31633440768 Bytes
Windows Disk Capacity: 31624626176 Bytes
Internal Tags: 2Q6P-S74A
File System: FAT32
Relative Offset: 1024 KB
USB Version: 3.00 in 2.00 port
Declared Power: 300 mA
ContMeas ID: 3DDA-11-00
Microsoft Windows XP SP3
Program Version: 7.9.0.548

; ChipGenius_v4_00_0030.exe:
Description: USB storage device(UFD 3.0 Silicon-Power32G)
Device Type: Mass Storage Device

Protocal Version: USB 2.10 – Hint: This device can run faster when plugged to a USB3.0 port
Current Speed: High Speed
Max Current: 300mA

USB Device ID: VID = 13FE PID = 5400
Serial Number: P1401468070B556EA15C9623

Device Vendor: UFD 3.0
Device Name: Silicon-Power32G
Device Revision: 0100

Manufacturer: UFD 3.0
Product Model: Silicon-Power32G
Product Revision: PMAP

Controller Vendor: Phison
Controller Part-Number: PS2251-06(PS2306) – F/W 01.02.10
Flash ID code: 2C847863 – Micron

This is exactly what the report of any flash drive whose controllers are known to by the utility should look like.

As an example, I will show how other companies are identified usb-controllers, in short form (up to values VIDPID).

Here we are primarily interested in the controller model and flash memory identifier ( FlashID = FID). For Alcors, I have also highlighted its code, which will be useful to you when working with chips 98th group (AU6989SN, AU6989AN and others). If the value FID`and has a value that does not exist in nature, then the drive is not working properly and at least a test mode is needed.

SELECTION OF UTILITIES

An experienced user, as a rule, will simply go to the page with utilities for a particular controller company and there, based on experience, will select the desired utility. As a last resort, he will sort through a couple that fit certain templates.

For example, let's take one of the flash drives shown in the table above, namely the one on the chip from Alcor.

On the menu FILES We find the manufacturer and there we already search by controller model. If you don’t know which page to look for, you can enter the controller model into the site search, the search bar located in the upper right corner. We drive in one by one, for example - AU6985 or AU6992 or SC508 or FC8508. So, for example, I went to the utility AlcorMP_UFD 13.02.05.MD (AU6990,92,96,98), numbers in brackets 92 , which point to the controller AU6992. From different versions AlcorMP, I chose the last one, which has a number in its description 92 . If for some reason it does not work, you can check several earlier versions or switch to another utility, for example FC MpTool 04.03.40 (AU6990,92,96,98).

If manual selection is difficult for you or it simply did not give an effect, then you can move on to the Google method.
You can Google your hardware in the following formats:

AU6985 ADD79425
AU6992 ADD79425
SC508 ADD79425
FC8508 ADD79425

AU6985 H27UBG8T2M
AU6992 H27UBG8T2M
SC508 H27UBG8T2M
FC8508 H27UBG8T2M

If the hardware is less common and the search ends in failure, then we move on to more general cases:

AU6985 MLC-4K
AU6992 MLC-4K
SC508 MLC-4K
FC8508 MLC-4K

AU6985 Hynix 41nm
AU6992 Hynix 41nm
SC508 Hynix 41nm
FC8508 Hynix 41nm

The Internet is large and therefore I would advise you to first check if there is information on the portal itself USBDev, for this we will add additional search parameters.

AU6992 ADD79425 site:site

Search engines (google, yandex, ...) will search only on my site and the search will be more complete, since in this case the filters that the search engine may have imposed on some of my pages do not apply.

FIRMWARE PROCESS

I won’t go into much detail here; the procedures for all utilities are usually similar. Just a few words:
– If possible, use exclusively the rear USB2.0 ports of your computer.
– Recommended to use Windows XP 32bit. In most cases it is quite suitable 32-bit Windows7. Using other OS versions, as well as 64-bit, is not as effective and can end up with unnecessary errors. Although many software released in recent years, one way or another, already support Windows 7 64bit.
– Using utilities that do not support your controller is, as a rule, absolutely safe, since they simply won’t see the flash drive. But those that seem to support, but are not fully debugged, can lead to the flash program freezing.

NOTES

If you are not confident in your capabilities and do not want to trip over your own rake, you should not change the original values ​​of identification information ( VID, PID, Vendor, Product and so on) stuffed into it. In most distributions located on the site, the originals are jammed, but what you have jammed in yours, for example, Kingston, is a leftist!
Controllers Sandisk cannot be restored and is not worth the wait.
For ITE IT1181A1BA, it is not yet possible to determine FID using surveys.
With controllers SiliconGO–Appotech a complete mess, both with identification and in general.
During treatment Alcor-chips with L74-memory operating in dual-channel mode, restoration to full capacity is possible only with the help of online utilities from Transcend.
For USB2.0 SMI-controllers ( SM3257ENAA, SM3257ENLT, SM3257ENBA), installed with cheap modern memory from 2012-2014, which comes in many flash drives like Transcend and Silicon-Power, you need to sew it with a sorting utility Dyna Mass Storage Production Tool.
Company Kingston, has never produced flash drives on controllers Alcor, Micov, Chipsbank, Appotech, SMI. If you find exactly these in your possession, then be sure that they are fakes.

One fine moment something terrible happened: my The flash drive stopped opening! What to do now?

How to recover (save) files on it? Or maybe it opens, but there is no information on it. It was simply accidentally deleted or the USB flash drive was simply formatted.

Or maybe the child accidentally pressed the camera buttons and accidentally pressed the button to delete all pictures (or worse, format the memory card), but the photos have not yet been transferred to the computer.

We will try to recover information without any interference with the data on the storage device, i.e. if this method does not help, you can use another - all the information on the card will remain intact - it will simply be copied, and then you can do whatever you want with the flash drive...

Let's look at everything point by point.

Recovering information from a USB flash drive (USB drive)

Of course, this method is suitable if there is no physical damage to the flash card, if, for example, it was hit by a car, then any software is unlikely to help.

For the most part, information (files) disappears due to logical errors in data, so it can be restored. Basically, the file allocation table (FAT, NTFS) is destroyed, while the files themselves are quietly stored where they should be.

Therefore, let's try to restore the information ourselves without the help of specialists; of course, for this we will need a special program (utility) that maintains the data. It’s scary - there’s nothing complicated here. I will try to go through all the stages of data recovery in detail.

Yes, here’s something else I’d like to add: just in case, check the flash drive for viruses before restoring it. Of course, if you are absolutely sure of their absence, then this is not at all necessary. For example, if you erased the photos themselves and then realized it, then this is one thing, but if suddenly something incomprehensible, something strange happened on the flash drive: files or folders disappeared somewhere, then in this case there is not enough confidence, that there are no viruses on the flash drive. Suddenly, recovery is not required, but the files have simply become hidden - the result of malware (viruses). If you want to check, you can use, for example, utility for treating an infected computer Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool. Next, we assume that there are no viruses on the flash drive.

Firstly: You should not write any information onto a flash drive, from which the files will be restored: it may happen that new files being written will replace the previous ones and then the old files will be restored almost impossible.

If the flash drive opens and there is nothing on it, then your situation is much better than the one we chose - a USB flash card that does not even open.

A flash drive was taken to restore files Transcend JF V30 8 Gb (Gigabyte) capacity.

We will use a free utility (program) PhotoRec which you can download on our website.

Its size is small, about 1.5 MB, but it works great.

So we connect the flash drive to the computer, try to open it and see the following message: “The disk in device I is not formatted. Should I format it? (see picture)

Select " No", naturally.

As you can see, the file system has become RAW instead of FAT, and the capacity is also zero.

Next, create some folder (in our example this is the folder “ 666 » on disk D:), download the free software package " TestDisk and PhotoRec 6.11.3 for Windows"(this is one zip archive) and unpack it into the folder we created. As a result of these actions, in the folder “666” we created, another subfolder “ testdisk-6.11.3", go into it and then into another subfolder " win" (i.e. the full path is like this : « D:\666\testdisk-6.11.3\win» ). Next, run the file “ photorec_win.exe"with the image of an eye (see figure)

A DOS application window opens with a list of all connected devices, among them, using the cursor arrows, select the disk we need (in our case, it is a Transcend JF V30 8 Gb flash drive) (see figure)

Press the key " Enter"(i.e. continue).

Next, a window opens with a choice of disk partitions (in our case it’s a flash drive), select “ Whole disk", which means " On the entire disk", in all sections and " Enter» (continue) (see figure)

Next, you need to select a directory (folder) to save the recovered found files. By default (without any choice) this directory with the program photorec_win.exe(in our case « D:\666\testdisk-6.11.3\win» ), we are satisfied with everything, we confirm by simply pressing the letters “ Y"(Yes) (see picture).

That's it, after this the file search process starts, all that remains is to wait for it to finish.

While searching for files, the window shows the number of files found and their types (see figure)

After the search is completed, the total number of files found and their types is shown (see figure)

That's it, the data recovery process is complete. You can simply close the Dos application window, or click on the “ Enter» (continue) to exit to the previous menu.

Well, you can look at the results. During the file recovery process, the program created directories with names recup_dir.X, where instead of the letter " X", there are numbers (in our case there are 7). Those. in our case, we recovered 7 directories with a total of 3244 files. (see picture)

Which of them are needed and which are not is entirely up to you. In our case, we restored 2570 photographs, of which about 300 were needed.

Go for it! All in your hands. Do not give up.

Instructions

First of all, don't make unnecessary movements. The fewer manipulations with files you have done after damage or damage, the easier it will be and the more likely it is. Do not format it, and if you have formatted it, do not write new data to it. Recovering deleted data is easier than recovering deleted data after formatting.

If you did not delete the data, but access to it is prohibited, and a system error warning appears, then try restarting the computer (sometimes it even helps). When that doesn't work, remove it the correct way and reinsert it.

If this does not help, then you need to perform a “removable disk check”. To do this, in the “My Computer” window, right-click on the icon and select “Properties”. In the window that appears, select the “Service” tab and click on “Run check”. Check the boxes “Automatically correct system errors”, “Scan and repair bad sectors” and run the scan.

If access to files is still denied, then you need to resort to the help of specialized programs. Also, such programs can (not always) restore files deleted manually and after formatting. Most of these programs are easy to use and intuitive. The likelihood of recovering lost files depends on many factors, but the chance is decent. One minus is that the vast majority of such software products are paid or shareware, but almost all give the opportunity to try them on several files.

Download and use one of the following programs:
- Recovery Toolbox for Flash;
- SuperCopy (free);
- Recuva;
- PC Inspector File Recovery (free);
- Undelete Plus;
- Unstoppable Copier.

There is a possibility that where one utility failed, another will help. If lost or damaged data was dear to you, then don’t be lazy and try several recovery programs.

note

How to recover damaged files? Do you need a program to recover damaged files? Looking for how to recover damaged files? Are your files not opening or opening with an error after a virus attack, program or computer failure, or unsuccessful data recovery? Don't know how to fix an internal file structure error?

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DiskInternals Uneraser - recovers any deleted files, including documents, photos, mp3 and zip files. DiskInternals Flash Recovery - Recovers all damaged and deleted photos from memory cards and hard drives. The probability of its performance in case of minor damage remains quite high. In addition, in the latest versions of Skopin FileCopier it has become possible to replace the faulty parts of the file with data from a special image file created by the FileCOMPILER program from...

Sources:

• flash drive damaged